Community

by

No Tricks, All Treats

It’s almost that time of year again, and Coastal Delaware no longer slows down in the Fall like it once did. We appreciate living in Delaware all year long, but there is something special about Fall in Delaware. After most of us spend all summer at the beach, the cool ocean breeze, corn fields and farmland that makes Delaware perfect for the Fall. We love to share the word about the best places and the most fun amusements you can enjoy in Delaware, so here we go! No matter what you like to do, whether it’s enjoy a cold drink or spend time with your kids, there is a ton you can enjoy in October.

We’ll start off by providing you the links to the most comprehensive October activity lists that already exist, and then below that hit on a few of our Lessard Builders favorites for October 2018 Fall Fun. The two links below are exceptional websites that have compiled all the October fun going on in Delaware and on Delmarva.

Visit Delaware’s Complete Fall and Halloween Event List

Delaware Haunted House’s Delaware 2018 Halloween Event Calendar

Those of us at Lessard Builders may not be full fledged Halloween experts, but we know a thing or two about Reese’s Cups, Snickers bars, trick or treating and Fall fun. Here are three local October events that are our:

October 2018 fun favorites

Boast The Coast, Saturday October 6th &  Coast Day, Sunday October 7th

Coast Day has been a University of Delaware Fall tradition for decades. It’s sibling event, the Boast the Coast celebration, is occurring for the 23rd year in conjunction with it. These back-to-back local festivals celebrate Delaware’s relationship with the ocean and Coastal Delaware’s centuries of nautical heritage. If you are looking for some first weekend of October fun, look no further!

We recommend you start off the festivities on Saturday exploring Downtown Lewes and Canalfront Park for Boast the Coast. Boast the Coast is a psuedo festival where many local businesses set up for a huge sidewalk sale with the very best of their ocean spirit: so, you can expect tons of food (seafood in particular), vendors, and activities. There will also be an Oktoberfest celebration from 2pm to 6pm in Canalfront Park for the second year in a row.

The next day, Sunday, University of Delaware’s Hugh R. Sharp (Pilottown Road) campus hosts their traditional Coast Day event! Coast Day is magnificent because it provides a fun, engaging, hands on event where people of all ages can learn about the ocean, modern ocean research, and our ocean history. Coast Day activities include seafood cooking demonstrations from local chefs, ship tours, touch tanks filled with ocean creatures for kids to learn about, food vendors, shopping, and over a dozen rooms filled with different talks and presentations. 

Bottom line: Boast The Coast and Coast Day are worth a definite earmark for the 6th and 7th!

 

Rehoboth Beach Sea Witch Parade Oct 26th-28th 

Sea Witch Festival Program- https://www.beach-fun.com/images/SWProgram2018.AsOf9.14.18.pdf

We love the Sea Witch Festival and Parade! The Sea Witch Festival is one of Coastal Delaware’s biggest Fall attractions and has continued to improve and grow with each year. 2018 should be more fun than ever. Residents and visitors alike flock to downtown Rehoboth on Saturday to watch as hundreds of local businesses and residents parade down the Rehoboth avenue in extravagant costumes and on ornately crafted floats! The parade and parade float/costume contest is one of the highlights, but there are also dozens of other activities. From a “witches cackle” contest, to dog costume competitions, to face painting and trick or treating you won’t want to miss this crown jewel of Fall Fun in Coastal Delaware.

Oh, be sure to keep an eye out for us and our Lessard Builders float in the parade on Saturday!

 

Cape Henlopen State Park’s 30th Children’s Halloween Fantasy Trail

Saturday October 26th 6pm – 8pm,  Sunday October 27th 6pm – 7:30pm

One of the best child-friendly Halloween activities in Delaware. Cape Henlopen State Parks transforms into a Halloween Fantasy Trail wonderland the weekend before Halloween. The State Park sets up their Fantasy Trail as a walking trick-or-treat trail filled with candy, toys, and it’s lined with all your kids favorite storybook characters along the way. Once your kiddies are finished trick or treating there is also entertainment, games and activities taking place under their big tent each evening. It’s a great way for you to take your kids whether you’re solo or you have a huge group of their friends. If you have questions about Cape Henlopen’s Fantasy Trail, call 302-645-6852.

 

We hope you all enjoy your October! 

 

by

In 2010 American Express launched a Small Business Saturday campaign to encourage consumers to remember the little local guys during the holiday shopping season. Small Business Saturday is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and since 2010 the trend has grown exponentially. American Express has done a great job with providing marketing tools to the small businesses to help communicate the “Shop Small” message to local communities and simultaneously offer a Small Business Saturday incentive to bring people to their store. If you are purchasing items with your American Express card, you can register you card ahead of time to receive statement credits by purchasing at verified small businesses.

Shop Small at All Climate Storage Center
All Climate Storage Center: Shop Small Marketing Image

We think that you should shop small all year round but love that there is a day dedicated to supporting small business. It helps create awareness in our small state and gives small business owners a platform to say what they do and why they do it.

This post’s intention is to remind you the importance of living local, shopping small and supporting the community you live in. You’ll see statistics pulled from resources around the web, primarily the American Express Open Website. I’ve also created #ShopSmall and #LiveLocal images specific to Delaware. Feel free to use them and share them with your community Thanksgiving week and throughout the year!

Small Business Helps Community

One more thing – share with us some of your favorite places to eat and shop small on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year. If you want to share why one of the reasons you will shop small this Saturday- we’d love to hear your thoughts too!

I’ll go first! I love the experience that comes with shopping small – the “mom and pop shop” feel that you get from a unique atmosphere and friendly, knowledgeable service. I love that you can talk to the owners and truly see what makes them so passionate and thrilled to do what they do. They are always asking for feedback and trying to see what they can do to fine tune the art of their industry.

Here are a few of my favorite “little (but awesome!) local guys” in Delaware:

Nottinghill Coffee, Lewes, Delaware
Teller Wines, Lewes, Delaware
Chateleine’s (Jewelry), Lewes, Delaware
a (MUSE.), Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Browseabout Books, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Pickled Pig Pub, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Pig + Fish, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

The Backyard, Milton, Delaware
Dolce Coffee & Bakery, Milford, Delaware
Abbott’s Grill, Milford, Delaware

Witt Brother’s Market, Wyoming Delaware
Delaware Bay Trading Company, Camden, Delaware
Fifer’s Orchard, Wyoming, Delaware
TA Farms, Wyoming, Delaware

Bayard Pharmacy, Dover Delaware
Bel Boutique, Dover Delaware
Frankfurt Bakery & Deli, Dover Delaware
Dinos & Darlings, Dover, Delaware
Restaurant 55, Dover, Delaware
Kaizen Karate Academy, Dover, Delaware

Painted Stave Distillery, Smyrna, Delaware
The Young Bean Cafe, Clayton, Delaware
Willey Farms, Townsend, Delaware
Cantwell’s Tavern, Odessa, Delaware

1861 Gastropub, Middletown, Delaware
First & Little Boutique, Middletown, Delaware
Purple Sage Tea, Middletown, Delaware
Fromage Cheese Shop, Middletown, Delaware
La Piazza Italian Restaurant, Middletown, Delaware

Soffritos Italian Grill, Newark, Delaware
The Corner Bistro, Wilmington, Delaware
BellaVista Trattoria & Pizzeria, Wilmington, Delaware

Outside of Delaware:
We had such an amazing time here that they are certainly worth mentioning to remember the little guys when you are on vacation too!

Oh My Chocolate, Stevensville, Maryland
Southsides Bar & Grill, Chesapeake City, Maryland
The Aldrich House, Williamsburg Virginia
Tria Wine Bar, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
The Lotus Guest House, Provincetown Cape Cod Massachusetts
The Pickle Jar Kitchen, Falmouth, Cape Cod Massachusetts
The Quahog Dive Bar, Falmouth, Cape Cod Massachusetts

I’d love to hear your favorite places to live local!

Shop Small Business Delaware

Shop Small Delaware

American Business Story: Shop Small

Shop Small Delaware

Shop Small Community Local

Shop Small Infographic

Shop Small Live Delaware

by

In early 2014, Gals That Give held an event for Cancer Support Community Delaware. It was an amazing event and there was not a dry eye in the room during their education presentation, a testimony from cancer survivor, Ray Failing.

The Gals That Give event for Cancer Support Community and the October event for Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition were both very eye opening because out of 150 to 230 women, almost everyone in the room acknowledged that they have been affected by cancer in their lives.

We’re big fans of the Cancer Support Community and what they do so naturally, we were more than happy to be contenders as guest bartenders at their “Give Cancer The Boot” Guest Bartender Showdown event. Christina Lessard, Kim Willson, Stephanie Preece, Erin Barrett and I will be serving a #DoGood cocktail competing against The Friends of Cancer Support Community Team serving the “Good JuJu Cocktail”.

Give Cancer The Boot at Cowboy Up

 

A Family Friendly Event! In addition to delicious drinks, fun company and a good cause there will be line dancing lessons, music and ten percent of the food sales will go directly to Cancer Support Community. We’re hoping for a great event and we’d love for you to join us! The event starts at 6:00 pm and will be held at Cowboy Up Saloon, 1036 Lafferty Lane in Dover, Delaware.

Cancer Support Community Delaware Mission

To ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community. http://www.wellnessdelaware.org/


Gals That Give Mission
Gals that Gives’ mission is to cultivate local community non-profit organizations by connecting them with a larger network so they can continue to make an impact where we live and breathe every day. There are five founders that lead the organization:

Kim Willson, Ruggerio & Willson

Erin Barrett, The Outlook at The Duncan Center

Christina Lessard, Lessard Builders

Stephanie Preece, George & Lynch

(and me!) Catrina Sharp, Lessard Builders

 

by

Whew! What an uplifting Gals That Give year! I’m not sure that any of us predicted that we would be able to pack a room of 240 attendees and raise over $40,386 in eleven events. The past year has been quite the whirlwind with the rapid growth of Gals That Give and we are so excited to celebrate our one year birthday on November 20th as a fundraiser for the City of Dover Fraternal Order of The Police. We’re planning for an extraordinary first birthday event therefore we decided that just this month we’re inviting the guys to join in on the fun. We are expecting a larger than usual turnout this month so we will be limiting the amount of tickets available and they must be purchased online by November 17th.

Gals That Give Benefit for Dover Delaware Police Community

Join us for a fun #dogood night sponsored by Lessard Builders!
The event will follow the typical format which includes a three course dinner with appetizers and dessert prepared by Outlook Events at The Duncan Center. There will be a Chinese or “pick a prize” style auction and a 50/50. Our friends at the Painted Stave Distillery will be providing tastings and local musician Emily Moses will be rockin’ out our favorite hits. Dinner is typically served around 6:40 pm but can vary depending on the events of the evening.

Gals (& Guys) That Give Ticket Options:

$25 ticket includes admission & dinner
$35 ticket includes Dinner ticket + (1) bottle of wine (you choose red or white)

(New!) Must Pay Online Prior To The Event
This is a necessary change this month due to the size of the event. Limited seating will be available so please, please, please mark your calendars and RSVP early via Eventbrite! We would love for everyone to join us but space will be limited so do not wait until the last minute!

(New!) #Gals4Charity Social Media Photo Contest
We LOVED looking through the pictures for the #gals4charity picture contest at the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition last month. We will be doing this again – so get creative and tag your event photos with #Gals4Charity on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. The winner will win a prize after dinner.

Gals That Give Social Media Picture Contest

(New!) Auction Tickets: We added another level!

The Gals That Give community is so lucky to have the support of local businesses and individuals that donate items to our “pick a prize” or “chinese” style auction every month. For the month of November, the list has been pretty extensive with higher priced items such as Philadelphia Flyers tickets, Baltimore Ravens tickets, a low digit auto tag, a capital tour with lunch in the exclusive members only U.S. Senate room, an Apple iPad and other items at a similar price point so we have decided to add another level of auction tickets that allows you to purchase 150 tickets for $100. All proceeds from the auction ticket sales go towards the Dover Fraternal Order of The Police.

Attendees can purchase auction tickets at the event for the following levels:

Gals That Give Auction Items for Dover FOP

(New!) Super Sponsor of the Month:
The recently launched sponsorship gives businesses the opportunity to be in front of the Gals That Give community and attendees before, during and after the actual event via social media and signage.

The 2015 Schedule To Be Announced at November Event
The 2015 events calendar and assigned non-profits will be announced at the November 20th Anniversary Party. At this time, businesses can also request months that they would like to be a Super Sponsor. For non-profits interested in applying, you must be a 501c3 and if you’d like to be considered for 2016, please submit your application prior to June 1st, 2015. Email [email protected] for an application or Super Sponsor information.

First Friday Dover
As a reminder, the downtown merchants get together every first Friday of the month to throw fun events similar to a block party with music, refreshments, activities and sales. All proceeds go towards the corresponding  Gals That Give Charity of the Month. The checks are presented the charity at each Gals That Give event.

The Education Piece
In one year, we have learned about eleven additional non-profits and resources that support the area where we live. Prior to dinner the non-profit takes a few minutes to present to to the audience through testimonials, experiences and statistics. I feel that this is the most inspirational part of what we do with Gals That Give. Everyone has faced struggles in their lifetime. When someone stands up to share their story with us you can feel the energy in the room pull together as a support system. The sense of community is so powerful it gives me goosebumps every time I think about it.

About the Dover Fraternal Order of Police:
The mission of the Dover Fraternal Order of Police is to assist a fellow members in need and protect and serve their community and the citizens who represent it.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers and has become the voice of those who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving our communities. The F.O.P. is dedicated to improving the working conditions of law enforcement officers and the safety of those we serve through education, legislation, information, community involvement, and employee representation. Lodge #15 represents the Officers of the City of Dover Police Department.

In fact, there is more you can do if you wish to support some interesting social projects. Check out MAKEITHAPPEN.ORG.AU for details.

Dover Delaware FOP Community

Dover Delaware FOP Community Events

Dover Delaware Police Department Community

Dover Delaware Community Outreacb

Dover Delaware Police Community Night

 

 

Heroes and Helpers
Outside of their daily routine the police officers of the Dover F.O.P. give back to the community by organizing fundraising events and participating in various programs such as the Special Olympics, Toys for Tots and Dover Night Out. During the holiday season they continue to work with organizations like Heroes and Helpers to raise funds so they can brighten the holiday for families who need it most by taking a group of children in need shopping at Target for the holiday.

About the Gals That Give Charity
Gals that Gives’ mission is to cultivate local community non-profit organizations by connecting them with a larger network so they can continue to make an impact where we live and breathe every day.

There are five founders that lead the organization:
Kim Willson, Ruggerio Willson & Associates
Erin Barrett, The Outlook at The Duncan Center
Christina Lessard, Lessard Builders
Stephanie Preece, George & Lynch
(and me!) Catrina Sharp, Lessard Builders

Event Details:
The Outlook at The Duncan Center in Dover, Delaware
Thursday, November 20th
5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
We can be reached via email at [email protected], on Facebook or by phone (302) 698-1091